Your Cell Phone Is Dirtier Than a Urinal -- NOW Will You Clean It?

I'm sure you've heard it before, but have you ever heeded the advice? Clean your cell phones, people! They're disgusting. No, really. As Mashable recently pointed out, research indicates that the average cell phone has 18 times more harmful bacteria on it than a handle on a public male toilet! Aaand 1 in every 6 cellphones has fecal matter on it. I mean, come on! This is disgusting! Do you really want this up against your face and near your mouth -- or worse, your kids playing with it?

I'm going to go with no. I'm going to take a stab in the dark that you, too, feel that poop on cell phones is gross, right? Uch, so, let's do something about it!

Well, first of all, you should start by turning off your phone. And if you're one of those people who can remove the battery in said phone, do that, too. No need to blow anything up in the name of cleanliness.

Now, for the cleaning. There are a couple of ways one can clean their phone. For me, personally, I always go with a good ol' fashioned alcohol-soaked cotton ball swipe. I have an iPhone, so there aren't too many nooks and crannies to worry about. If you have a BlackBerry or something else with a keypad, use a Q-tip (with some alcohol) and try to get up in there. Don't, however, completely drench the thing. That's not a good idea. You can also simply use a dampened eyeglass-cleaning cloth to swipe the screen of your phone, if you don't want to get into chemicals. Other products I've used on my phone (and it's been fine) are hand sanitizer and Seventh Generation cleaning wipes. Again, no soaking, though.

Once you've cleaned off your phone, let her dry before putting her back together/turning her on. And a good rule of thumb to remember is: Always wash your hands before and after using your phone (if possible).